The tiger barb has long been one of the most popular and most kept aquarium fish species and there are today a wide variety of different color morphs available in the aquarium trade besides the common tiger barb. Such morphs include albino tiger barbs, green tiger barbs, and golden tiger barbs.

The tiger barb originates in South-East Asia and is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. They live on the Malay Peninsula, on the island of Sumatra and on the island of Borneo. The tiger barb can however today be found in many waters around the world where it voluntarily or involuntarily has been introduced by man. Countries, where it has been introduced, includes Australia, Singapore, Suriname, and Colombia.

Tiger barbs are suitable for beginner aquariums where they are best kept in large schools. Tiger barbs can often resort to fin nipping if they are kept in too small schools but this is seldom a problem if they are kept in large schools. It is however still recommended to avoid keeping tiger barbs with slow-moving, long finned fish species. The average lifespan in a well-kept aquarium is 6 years. Tiger barbs should preferably be kept in aquariums no smaller than 60 centimeters (24 inches) long. The aquarium should be decorated with hiding places among plants and plenty of room for swimming. Rocks and driftwood will also be appreciated.

Tiger barbs are very easy to care for as long as you keep the water parameters within the ranges given at the beginning of this article. Try to keep the water temperature in the upper part of the recommended range, ideally 23 - 26° C (74-79° F). They are omnivorous and will accept almost all the food that is presented to them and they will accept flake food. Try to vary the diet of your tiger barbs as much as possible even if it possible to keep and breed tiger barbs on nothing but flake food.

Tiger barbs are easy to breed and the largest problem is usually to prevent the parents from eating the eggs and fry. They often spawn in regular community aquariums but it is rare for any fry to survive in a community aquarium. Most often the eggs get eaten well before hatching. They are easy to sex as the female tiger barb is larger and have a much rounder belly. Males have distinctive red noses, and above the black part of their dorsal fins, you can see a characteristic red line. The dorsal fin of the female is mainly black.

If you want to breed your tiger barbs it recommendable to set up a breeding aquarium with some kind of egg protection device in it that prevents the parents from eating the eggs. A layer of common glass marbles on the bottom of the tank will do well for this task. Fill the breeding aquarium with water from the main tank. Move around the female to the tank and a male to the breeding tank.

They will likely spawn the next morning or at the very least the morning after if they are in spawning condition. If you fish hasn't spawned in three days a recommend trying another pair instead. The eggs are sticky, do not float in freshwater and are usually slightly above 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) in length. The number of eggs usually ranges from 300 to 500. The fry becomes free swimming after about 5 days and can be fed newly hatched brine shrimp. The fry grows relatively fast and usually reaches sexual maturity in about seven weeks at what point they are 2-3 centimeters (0.8-1.2 inches).

2018-07-30

The Tiger barb or Barbus tetrazona are members of the family Cyprinidae commonly referred to as Cyprinids. Their habitat extends through the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. There are also scattered populations in Cambodia.

Their name is purely descriptive. Tiger barbs have an orange body with vertical black striping. Tigers are just one of over 70 species of barbs made commercially available by the aquarium industry. Selective breeding has produced a wide variety of color variations. Color morphs are green, gold and albino tiger barbs. The green tiger barb is highly melanistic. Their body reflects green over the black due to a Tyndall effect.

The tiger barb has an even temperament and makes for a good community fish. They are mid-level swimmers. Barbs do have a tendency to be fin nippers though. This behavior increases in bigger groups. Avoid mixing them with large finned species such as angelfish, bettas, and fancy guppies. They are a smaller fish. They only grow to about 2.5 inches long as adults. You'll want to raise them with similarly sized species to avoid waking up to one less fish in your tank.

Barbs are a shoaling fish. Shoaling fish are community dwellers. They instinctively travel in groups. Shoaling fish are ill-adapted to a life of solitude. It is recommended that you have at least four of any shoaling fish in an aquarium. Six to eight is even better.

Barbs thrive in soft, slightly acid water with a temperature range between 68-77 °F.

They are omnivorous. They can live out their entire life fed nothing but common tropical fish flakes. But a diet supplemented with pure protein will help keep them fit, vigorous and colorful.

It is not difficult to distinguish between male and female tiger barbs. The males are typically more colorful. Males tend to have more red on their fins than females. The male's nose will turn red when it enters into its breeding cycle.

Breeding Tiger Barbs

Tiger barbs can be induced to spawn when provided with the right conditions. Tigers typically breed in early summer in the wild. Turn the aquarium thermostat up to 77 or 78 degrees. You want them in softer water such as bottled water or reverse osmosis filtered water. You will also want to increase the waters acidity level to approximately pH 6.5. If these conditions are not conducive to your other community dwellers simply use a breeding tank to create a controlled environment conducive to spawning. You will also want to increase their protein intake by feeding them brine shrimp, bloodworms or meat-based frozen or freeze-dried food.

Tiger barbs are egg layers. A trait common to egg layers is that they will eat their eggs if given the chance. This can be best avoided by placing a layer of marbles over the breeding tank substrate. The eggs will sink down in between the marbles and keep the eggs safely out of harm's way. After the adults have spawned they should be removed from the breeding tank.

The fry will hatch in about 36 hours. They will be free swimming in 2-3 days. Once they are free swimming they can be fed infusoria or liquid fry food formulated for egg laying fish. Larger fry can be fed newly hatched brine shrimp. In about two weeks you will be able to change their diet to finely crushed fish flakes.

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2017-10-31

The Tiger Barb, Puntius tetrazona, is a very popular little fish. Another common name is the Sumatra Barb. Other scientific names that have been used for this fish are Barbus tetrazona, Capoeta sumatraus, Barbodes tetrazona, and Capoeta tetrazona. This fish grows to about two and a half inches long (7cm). It comes from Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsular. It might have been native to some other places in South East Asia including Cambodia but it has been introduced into places and it is not always clear which are native populations and which are recent introductions.

Water Conditions

Tiger Barbs come from tropical areas. They are a tropical fish that has a slightly better tolerance to lower temperatures than a lot of tropical fish. 24 degrees C (75 degrees F) is a suitable temperature.

Tiger Barbs tolerate a wide range of conditions. I try to keep the pH about neutral (7), but some people prefer to use slightly acidic water. They come from soft water but do not appear to mind some hardness in the water.

Varieties

There are many colour variation of the Tiger Barb. These include the Moss Green Tiger Barb, also called the Green Tiger Barb, and the Moss-banded Barb. This pretty fish is highly melanistic but does not appear completely black. The scattering of light due to the Tindal Effect makes it appear dark green. It is clear that different people see the colour of this fish slightly differently. A variation of this colour variety is the Platinum Moss Green Tiger Barb. Another popular variation in the Albino Tiger Barb often called the Golden Tiger Barb. Some people consider that the Albino Tiger Barb is less aggressive than the wild-type. I have not observed any difference.

Food

The Tiger Barb is an omnivore and is easy to feed, eating all normal fish foods. They like live food like Daphnia and Mosquito larvae. In the absence of live food, they benefit from the occasional feeding of frozen foods like Blood Worms.

Fin Nipping

The Tiger Barb has the reputation for being the worst of all small fish for nipping the fins of other fish. This reputation is partly deserved. In some circumstances, they can certainly be a problem. However, if you keep a school (At least 6) the problem is reduced. I have known cases where people have bought just one of this species in the mistaken belief that one will be less dangerous than a group. In fact, the opposite is the case, and one or two will usually be much worse than a school.

Once, in our shop, I saw that a single male Guppy had got into a tank of Tiger Barbs. It must have been in for several hours, but it was swimming quite happily and the supposedly aggressive little fish were ignoring it.

The Tiger Barb is a fairly easy fish to breed. The females tend to be plumper than the males. The male has a redder nose and has a red line above the black part of their dorsal fin.

Keep a school of the fish and allow them to form their own pairs. The prospective parents need to be well fed with live food like Daphnia or other rich foods.

Hobbyists normally breed them in a separate Breeding Tank. The water in this tank should be soft and slightly acidic. They are egg scatterers giving no parental care and will eat fish eggs including their own. They also eat baby fish so it is usual to remove the parents after spawning.

The Breeding tank should have fine-leaved plants, either real or artificial. Some breeders use tanks with nothing on the bottom, but others prefer to use large (perhaps half an inch diameter) round gravel or marbles to stop the parents getting at their eggs.

The adults will often spawn early in the morning of the day after they are put in. If they have not laid their eggs after a few days, try a partial water change with water a little warmer than the breeding tank.

Typically, the female will lay about 200 eggs. These should hatch in about a day and a half, and the babies will be free swimming after five days. The young can be raised on commercial fry food, supplemented when possible with suitable sized live food. The babies need plenty of space to grow quickly, and you need to watch the water quality while feeding them frequently.

The fry grows quickly and if they are well fed, could be over an inch long in eight weeks. These young fish are potentially big enough to breed.

Pest Fish

The Tiger Barb has been introduced to many countries, including Australia, Colombia, Singapore, and Suriname as well as Asian countries they are not native to. They have the potential to cause considerable damage to aquatic ecosystems. Care should be exercised with Tiger Barbs as well as other types of fish to not allow them to escape into the wild.